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I'm Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself A Letter)
"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" is a 1935 popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Joe Young. It has been recorded many times, and has become a standard of the Great American Songbook. It was popularized by Fats Waller, who recorded it in 1935 at the height of his fame. It is one of several songs from the Harlem Renaissance featured in the Broadway musical '' Ain't Misbehavin'''. American Public Media's business-news program, Marketplace, uses a portion of Fats Waller's version to open its weekly letters-from-listeners segment. Recordings The song had a major revival in 1957 in a Coral recording (on April 3) by Billy Williams with orchestra directed by Dick Jacobs. It reached #3 on the ''Billboard'' magazine charts. A reported million-seller, it was awarded a Gold record. The song was recorded by Frank Sinatra for his 1954 album '' Swing Easy'', by Bing Crosby for his 1957 LP ''Bing with a Beat'' and again by Sinatra in 1962 for his collab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. His best-known compositions, " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999. Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, many of them co-written with his closest collaborator, Andy Razaf. Razaf described his partner as "the soul of melody... a man who made the piano sing... both big in body and in mind... known for his generosity... a bubbling bundle of joy". It is likely that he composed many more popular songs than he has been credited with: when in financial difficulties he had a habit of selling songs to other writers and performers who claimed them as their own. Waller started playing the piano at the age of six, and became a professional organist at 15. By the age of 18, he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. His early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Dick Haymes, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon. ''Yank'' magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. In 1948, ''Music Digest'' estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linda Scott
Linda Scott (born Linda Joy Sampson; June 1, 1945) is an American pop singer and actress who was active from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Her biggest hit was the 1961 million-selling single, " I've Told Every Little Star". She went on to place twelve songs on the charts over the next four years, the last being "Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed," inspired by the film and written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach. In 1962, she portrayed a fictionalized version of herself in the musical film ''Don't Knock the Twist''. Biography Born in Queens, New York, Linda Sampson was 11 years old when she moved with her family to Teaneck, New Jersey. According to syndicated columnist Dick Kleiner, when Sampson was 13, she read a local newspaper article about songwriter Jane Douglass White. Sampson wrote White (also a New Jersey resident), the two were introduced, and White helped produce a demonstration cut which helped Sampson get attention, White playing piano on the record. She was still ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana. Born during the Great Depression and raised by his grandparents, Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. During high school, he toured locally with the Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the U.S. Air Force but was later discharged d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach No. 1 on the U.S. charts and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, "Snowbird" (1970). Murray is also well known for her Grammy Award-winning 1978 number 1 US hit "You Needed Me". She is often cited as one of the female Canadian artists who paved the way for other international Canadian success stories such as k.d. lang, Céline Dion, and Shania Twain. She is also the first woman and the first Canadian to win "Album of the Year" at the 1984 Country Music Association Awards for her Gold-plus 1983 album '' A Little Good News''. Murray has received four Grammys, a record 24 Junos, three American Music Awards, three Country Music Association Awards, and three Canadian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio, television and in films. Following an acrimonious ending of the partnership in 1956, Martin pursued a solo career as a performer and actor. Martin established himself as a singer, recording numerous contemporary songs as well as standards from the Great American Songbook. He became one of the most popular acts in Las Vegas and was known for his friendship with fellow artists Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., who together with several others formed the Rat Pack. Starting in 1965, Martin was the host of the television variety program ''The Dean Martin Show'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can't Smile Without You" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)". He has recorded and released 51 Top 40 singles on the Adult Contemporary Chart, including 13 that hit number one, 28 that appeared within the top ten, and 36 that reached the top twenty. Manilow has released 13 platinum and six multi-platinum albums. Although not a favorite artist of music critics, Manilow has been praised by his peers in the recording industry, including Frank Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s as saying, "He's next." As well as producing and arranging albums for himself and other artists, Manilow has written and performed songs for musicals, films, and commercials for corporations such as McDonald's, Pepsi-Cola, and Band-Aid. He has been nominated for a Grammy A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDINGS VIEW; Gregory Isaacs, the Ruler of Reggae" ''The New York Times'', 2 February 1992.Kiviat, Steve (1996),Gregory Isaacs, ''Washington City Paper'', 6 – 12 December 1996 (Vol. 16, No. 49). Early career In his teenage years, Isaacs became a veteran of the talent contests that regularly took place in Jamaica. In 1968, he made his recording debut as Winston Sinclair, with the single "Another Heartache", recorded for producer Byron Lee. The single sold poorly and Isaacs went on to team up with Errol Dunkley to start the African Museum record label and shop, and soon had a hit with "My Only Lover", credited as the first lovers rock record ever made. He recorded for other producers to finance further African Museum recordings, having a str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scatman Crothers
Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known professionally as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show ''Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick's '' The Shining'' (1980). He was also a prolific voice-over actor who provided the voices of Meadowlark Lemon in the ''Harlem Globetrotters'' animated TV series, Jazz the Autobot in '' The Transformers'' and '' The Transformers: The Movie'' (1986), the title character in ''Hong Kong Phooey'', and Scat Cat in the animated film ''The Aristocats'' (1970). Music career He began his musical career as a teenager. He sang and was self-educated on guitar and drums. He was in a band that played in speakeasies in Terre Haute. During the 1930s, he formed a band, spent eight years living in Akron, Ohio, and performed five days a week on a radio show in Dayton, Ohio. The station manager thought he needed a catchier name, so Cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nat "King" Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued for the remainder of his life. He found great popular success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. His trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Cole also acted in films and on television and performed on Broadway. He was the first African-American man to host an American television series. He was the father of singer Natalie Cole (1950–2015). Biography Early life Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1919. He had three brothers: Eddie (1910–1970), Ike (1927–2001), and Freddy (1931–2020), and a half-sister, Joyce Coles. Each of the Coles brothers pursued careers in music. When Nat King Cole was four years old, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connee Boswell
Constance Foore "Connie" Boswell (December 3, 1907 – October 11, 1976) was an American vocalist born in Kansas City but raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. With sisters Martha and Helvetia "Vet", she performed in the 1920s and 1930s as the trio The Boswell Sisters. They started as instrumentalists but became a highly influential singing group via their recordings and film and television appearances. Connie herself is widely considered one of the greatest female jazz vocalists and was a major influence on Ella Fitzgerald, who said, "My mother brought home one of her records, and I fell in love with it... I tried so hard to sound just like her." In 1936, Connee's sisters retired and Connee continued on as a solo artist (having also recorded solos during her years with the group). Biography Boswell was born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The Boswells came to be well known locally while still in their early teens, making appearances in New Orleans theaters and on radio. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Boswell Sisters
The Boswell Sisters were an American close harmony singing trio of the jazz and swing eras, consisting of three sisters: Martha Boswell (June 9, 1905 – July 2, 1958), Connie Boswell (later spelled "Connee", December 3, 1907 – October 11, 1976), and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell (May 20, 1911 – November 12, 1988). Hailing from uptown New Orleans, the group blended intricate harmonies and song arrangements featuring effects such as scat, instrumental imitation, ‘Boswellese’ gibberish, tempo and meter changes, major/minor juxtaposition, key changes, and incorporation of sections from other songs. They attained national prominence in the United States in the 1930s during the twilight of the Jazz Age and the onset of the Great Depression. After the trio split in 1936, Connie continued as a solo vocalist in radio, film, and later television for an additional quarter century. The trio's "unique singing style and ground-breaking arrangements fused 'blackness' and 'whiteness' in m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
